Predictors of drinking immediacy following daily sadness: An application of survival analysis to experience sampling data

Previous studies of daily assessments show modest mood–drinking covariation as a function of gender and coping motives; however previous analyses also assume a fixed interval across all individuals in the onset of drinking following negative mood. The current study used survival analysis and experience sampling methods to test whether gender and coping motives predicted shorter sadness-to-drinking intervals among those with greater alcohol-related drinking consequences. A sample of 85 college students (46% male; 78% Caucasian) completed daily assessments over 28 days. Survival analyses showed that women drank more on days following elevated sadness when they reported being motivated to drink to cope and having experienced alcohol-related consequences. For men, the two groups showing greater drinking risk following days of elevated sadness did not report alcohol-related consequences, with those reporting the presence of coping motives showing the greatest risk. Implications of these findings for self-medication mechanisms are discussed.